Week 34!! And the Sugar Terrorists

It's been a busy week in the Maxson-Landis household. This last week marked the beginning of overtime at work so tax season has officially bitten. We also went to the first "what to expect at a home birth" class, given by the rock star BBdr, Dr. Sara. Then yesterday was a BBdr visit.

Whew!

I fully attribute my spunkiness and alertness to the addition iron supplement that I am rubbing on my feet (in paste form-gooey!). So overtime hasn't been that terrible, yet. I am still recovering when I sleep (since I'm sleeping pretty well) but I am going to bed at about 8pm. E-A-R-L-Y!

In other news, the home birth class was a real hoot. We were there with 7 other couples (one we even knew from other circles but didn't know they were coming!). We had an informal chat about what labor looks like (or doesn't as the case maybe), the progression of labor through the stages (the biggest being dilating from 1-10ish centimeters, which is a really BIG hole to think about making) and the final "ok PUSH!" phase (the shortest).

Very enlightening and not too terrifying. Both BP and I feel like all life events leading up to the big day have really been a good precursor for this kind of trial/experience/marathon.

We then watched a video (with terrible new-age music! /shiver) of 7 home births. It's pretty amazing to watch a little dude come out of someone. What's *really* amazing is that the little dude's head looks HUGE while coming out but mere seconds after the total package is popped out the whole thing looks incredibly tiny. Baby's as superhero's with morphing powers straight out of the birth canal, dang!

The BBdr visit was easy-peasy. With the exception of my glucose being a *wee* bit high due to consumption of 5 (a MERE 5!) red vines at work (it's not my fault!), the Sugar Terrorists (ST, tm) came out in full force! Sweet (no pun intended), innocent processed sugar was torn away from me and is currently being held captive by the Sugar Terrorist's (the BBdr and BP) who refuse to allow its free consumption to roam about unmitigated.

Harrumph!

So, Ixnay on the Ugarshay. The gauntlet has been thrown. Sheesh! All hell breaks loose over 5 red vines. Did you know those things are like 3 tablespoons of white sugar each? Here I thought they were just cherry flavored wax! Humbug.

All things considered, a pretty full week.


In other news, I'm taking suggestions for the perfect rocking chair. I don't think it's legal to HAVE a child without a rocking chair, but I'm a little late in the game picking one up or asking for one at the baby shower (2 weeks! Feb 28, come come!) I'm wondering what folks like (wooden, Amish, glider, etc) and where you might find such a gem?

Bring on the rocking chair stories! And the suggestions! Thanks!

Swimmingly,

KT & Tenant

In case anyone's curious why we are using glass baby bottles

Here is a documentary called "The Disappearing Male" by the CBC. I'll post their own write-up below:

The Disappearing Male is a CBC documentary about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system. The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer. At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette's syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia. The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world. Found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products, carpet, cosmetics and baby bottles, they are called "hormone mimicking" or "endocrine disrupting" chemicals and they may be starting to damage the most basic building blocks of human development.

Here is an online petition supporting the Kid-Safe Chemicals Act. It will only take a second.


Bp

Week 32 begins: The 2 month point.

Wow, time sure flies when you're making a baby. Is it just me or wasn't it JUST August? Crazy! Before I head off into the wild blue yonder to Medford for a few days of what my lovely husband calls "stickin' it to 'em" (Auditing work) I'll leave you with a little jicama nugget...

AAHAHAHHA...the baby as jicama. I tell ya, whoever came up with that reference ploy was really smoking something. I am sure it has spawned a thousand in-utero baby names (ooh, my little mango!)



I just think these are brilliant...call me crazy. Since I peeked going forward, I have to say I'm not nearly as excited about the watermelon one, but the pumpkin one is extremely appropriate.

Onward!



How your baby's growing:
By now, your baby weighs 3.75 pounds (pick up a large jicama) and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You're gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she'll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.

I have been feeling much better with the consumption of more iron supplements and elk. I get a topical iron supplement for the bottom of my feet when I get back. I'm trying to do everything in my power to keep recovering from working during tax season, even though my rockstar midwife isn't happy with my working schedule. We'll see how it goes. I am now under strict orders to put my feet up at least 15 minutes a day at work, that should be fun!

Other than that, I got another room painted ( the center room is now green) and we've decided on the blue for the front room. That will be my next conquest. The kittens are getting bigger and have a touch more personality. Sula is still hanging in there, mostly sleeping on the heating pad all day and making nasty faces at the kittens. Ah the love...

BP pulled up hard with a bout of food poisoning that I have to say, I am THANKFUL I didn't get. Bad news bears. Tait and I briefly contemplated the need to take him out back and put him down, but then some things, er..."moved" and he looks like he's going to make it. Bacteria are some serious shit here people! Don't just be ingesting wildly.

Apparently, (per the BBdr), Kiddo is facing the right way even at this stage of the game with a good head down, butt up, back to my stomach position that is optimal for slithering out a birth canal in a mere, oh...2 months or so. *Gulp*

And we had our first round of hiccups the other night...damn is THAT a weird sensation to experience from the inside of the inside of someone else. It took me a few long moments to figure out what was going on. It's like a small, reverberating volcanic eruption followed by some wild kicking. Dang! The BBdr assures me it's a sign of "fetal well being", so we'll run with it.

Have a nice week folks, I'll be back to spouting off this weekend sometime. I have a month 7 recap newsletter to get together.

And remember the baby shower is on FEB. 28th! If we missed getting you an invite for some reason, post us a note or give us a call and we'll get one to you!

Yours in Hiccups!

KT and Tenant

BBdr visit...I've lost count

Hola!

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, work has been ramping up and I've been more into sitting with my feet propped up than sitting at the computer after work. I am sure not much will change in the coming months. CRAPOLA...we're at 2ish months now.

This visit to the awesome crack team at the BBdr's office brought the revelation that BOTH of the midwives will be at the birth right before the baby actually vacates one abode and enters this crazy little thing called life. That was very reassuring to know, but the house somehow now feels like it may be filled with lots of people. The BBdr (Dr. Sara herself), her intern (whose name I cannot remember...I think it's Anna) AND her partner in crime Dr. Mary, (who I hear is equally stellar AND an accupuncturist, WOOT!) will all be there along with BP and a few sundry cats.

Oh, and your's truly.

Feels a bit full over here, but that has been the predominate feeling as of late. Just getting bigger. And I hear we're just getting bigger still. Sheesh!

All systems are a go this visit. I am still (apparently) extremely anemic. The 10.6 number on the test has whipped The Lovely Husband (tm) into a frenzy of elk preparation. So much so that I came home on Wednesday to find the largest meatloaf in the universe being cooked in my oven with obvious intention for my ingestion etched into its being. The shit eating grin on BP's face (coupled with a deep look of serious concern/skepticism) alerted my oh so delicate "something is up alarm" and I did a bit of research.

Me: So...what's IN the world's largest meatloaf, dear?

BP: It's an ITALIAN meatloaf receipe! It has bacon in it! And is stuffed with cheese! It looks fantastic! And I ground up a bunch of sweetmeats along with the other stuff and it should be FULL of iron. Stuffed full!

Me: The only word in that sentence that makes my spider sense tingle is "sweetmeats".

BP: OH that's nothing...just *mumble, mumble, mumble*...but it's FULL of iron. I assure you just stinking filled with it.

WELL, true believers, like many other things that are COMPLETELY MISNAMED in this world, Sweetmeats are not the best parts of the butt of the elk, OH NO! Sweetmeats, in this case, would refer to the heart and kidney's of said animal...ground finely and dumped into a humungous meatloaf.

Despite my instant HEEBEES, I pressed on (for the baby, you know) and found that it was some really friggin' good meatloaf, 6 pounds of which is individually frozen and vaccuum sealed in the freezer for me. What a guy. Sneaky turkey.

BUT I DIGRESS...

The heartrate has moved to a steady 128 and apparently after some uterus BBdr handling, I am having a "lovely sized baby". At this point at least.

So, well into week 30 we are still quite good. The swelling in the legs, feet and ankles refuses to abate but I am sleeping through the night and having no other terrible symptoms. BP informs me that he's sure the baby knows when we are both in bed because he's been getting kicked like crazy when he gets into bed. I figure it's good for the baby and him to be bonding, even if it IS through the wall of me.

A bit of exhaustion is kind of par for the course this time of year, baby or no. Work has been very accommodating and we'll see how accommodating the WORKLOAD is after my next 2 weeks of traveling. I think the elk will keep me powering through.

February 14 is the first homebirth baby meeting at the BBdr's house. Supposed to be instructional and a "what to expect" kind of event. We'll also meet 6 other couples that are having kids within a month or so of our due date. That should be great! I'll keep you posted. We plan on bringing some elk dish, we'll see how folks like it.

So, there's the current news. I am painting a room in the house and getting ready to rearrange so the whole place is more accommodating for us to live in (like the guest room on the ground floor near the bathroom...for the guests you know!). Feels like the countdown has begun. Once the babyshower hits I should be in full crazy mode.

I'll check in next week when I get back from Bend but before I head to Medford (watch out Tom and Marcy!).

Love to you all,

Kt and Tenant

PS: To ANONYMOUS, the visit to the BBdr was amazing with the pleasant suprise of your donation. We love you and you rock! And we hope you are reading the blog so you can except our deepest gratitude and thanks. You don't know how much it means to us. We're paid off! kisses!!

Little uninspired lately...but it's SNOWING!

Been a little uninspired as of late to post on the ole blog. That doesn't help the communication or readership now does it? It's been kind of hard to blog about the tenant when the tenant hasn't moved out yet. Mostly I feel like I am blogging about ME then...well, perhaps I am.

Onward to week 25 (and 2 days now):


How your baby's growing
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Oooh, yeah a word about hair. I got's it! I have much sympathy for those men in the world that just have hair spontaneously erupt from previously smooth body parts. It's creepy! Apparently, mine is supposed to be getting fuller and more lustrous as I am retaining the hair that would normally be shed. I assert that it is just choosing different locales to appear fuller and more lustrous in! Ok, TMI.

ON OTHER NOTES, DID I MENTION IT'S SNOWING!?! I love it when it snows in Portland. Snow is one of the few things I miss about living in the Midwest. Sure snow gets a little old come MAY but for the first few months it's just thrilling to wake up to a thick blanket of new snow on the ground. It makes everything so quiet and cosy! I hope it continues to snow for the full 6 days they are predicting here...but I suspect the weather pundits don't know what the hell they are talking about, as usual. PREDICTION people, no need to freak out until the weather actually HAPPENS...sheesh. Folks get really bent out of shape around here with weather.

Other than the pregnancy trucking right along, there is not that much to report. The little kitties are settling in nicely. We have decided on the names of Leonard and Jane for them. Tho, I have taken to calling Leonard Wapiti, which is Elk in Lakota, because he has this high pitched meow that is not becoming of his stature. He's a pretty big, long cat but when he opens his mouth he sounds like he's sucked in a bunch of helium. If you've ever heard a big, burly male elk open his mouth only to have this weird, high pitched whistle come out you will know what I mean.

So things are moving along well...I have been sleeping through the night less. Sometimes it's cat related or coughing related (darned little head cold for BP and I), more recently it's been bad dream related. Apparently it's common to have all manner of wild dreams as you head into the 3rd trimester. Mine are mostly recurring dreams I have had before but with some sort of sinister twist. I have been successful at waking myself up from most of them, which is uncommon for me. They aren't terrible dreams but they get the heart racing. Very odd.

About the PAPA: Last nights exciting adventure apparently occurred without my knowledge. BP has been up a couple of times the last few nights with coughing fits. He got up last night and when he came back to bed apparently he snuggled up with his lower back on the belly and couldn't figure out what the odd sensations he was feeling were...

...wait for it...

...until he figured out that Junior had just sent a couple of well meaning kicks straight into BP's backside! He said once he figured that out his eyes got all big! He thought it was hilarious!

Enjoy the update...I shall enjoy the prospect of getting a hot chocolate at lunch time and watching it snow some more! YA!

Swimmingly,

KT and Tenant

Baby Sign language

Was doing a bit of research on Baby sign language classes yesterday and hit paydirt! This looks amazing! (We're super busy at work, can you tell?)

Portland Early Learning Center is one of many that offer classes in baby / toddler sign language. There are quite a few studies that indicate babies can understand what you are saying to them FAR earlier than they can articulate back to you. The development of the vocal cords and higher brain function that makes active language possible is a bit behind the passive understanding.

So! In order to facilitate kiddo being able to tell you what he/she wants or needs earlier than speaking, you teach 'em simple sign language! Genius! It's amazing how early you can start in with infant sign language that sets a good foundation for toddler comprehension.

We had a 2 yr. old in the office a month or so ago with his parents who were waiting to meet with a partner and the tyke starts to get a bit fussy. As I was walking downstairs the Mama asks kiddo "what do you want? Water? Outside? Snack?" and is doing signs for each of the items. ASTONISHINGLY, this little kid signs for snack and she hands over a bag of Cheerio's...end of tantrum. BANG! Just like that.

I was sold. Check out the link and if you are in Portland and want to join BP and I this time next year in class, let me know. I'll probably do some posting of a few of the simple signs so that others can learn them too...when the time comes. You can see a simple glossary of words at the Babies and Sign Language site.

FUN FUN!

Swimmingly,

KT and Tenant

Week 24

Progress!

It cracks me up that they have photographic reference to fruits and vegetables available on Babycenter.

This week....(drum roll please)...CORN!

Hey, last week we were a mango. And we all know that mango's are *SO* last week.

For other exciting gestational news, see below...

How your baby's growing:
Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.


Dudes....next week, rutabaga! Awesome!

Swimmingly,

KT and Tenant

Co-Sleeping

Rebecca over at Girl's Gone Child wrote a very interesting article on co-sleeping and why they didn't do it with their first and why they do with their second.

The Good Reverend's Family (our Rorschach test for parenting) are big co-sleepers. We've watched the family grown from 1 baby in the bed to 6 kids in the house in multiple beds on any given night. It has been awesome to see how organically the kids come to a point where they don't want to sleep in the "big bed" any longer.

All of these kids are extremely well adjusted, articulate, smart, creative. None exhibit signs of the horror stories I have heard with kids whining about not being able to sleep with their parents when they are 8 years old or kids who have separation anxiety in spades.

Overall, my impression of co-sleeping is favorable and, frankly, something I am looking forward to.

And yet, it's another thing to have discussions with the Husband about and to come to a joint decision about when (or what age) might be appropriate to have the Tenant sleeping sans Parental units.

I must admit, I am glad there are these "Mommy blogs" out there for us up and coming parents because I am not sure where I would be asked to think about or take part in discussions about robust parenting issues issues I have never even thought of (like working mom guilt, post childbirth sex, co-sleeping and diaper preferences). Unless you have scads of folks in your community you are accessible to that have kids, these are questions that don't get asked or answered without some digging. Not everyone is comfortable discussing myriad issues like these either.

I know co-sleeping used to be more common and is making a comeback (at least here on the Left Coast). It's seems reasonable to consider it at least for the breastfeeding portion of this marathon event. We'll see if the Tenant is into it or if their Aries tendencies demand a wing of the house be built specifically to house them.

Swimmingly,

KT and Tenant

Lions and Tigers and Baby Showers, Oh My!

I was approached this weekend by a dear friend of mine from my Spiritual community about the impending baby shower. Oh, was it impending? Well, apparently according to her, yepper...let's get it booked and thrown!

I have to admit that I hadn't given much thought to having a baby shower since there are still vast aspects of the BABY I haven't given much thought to. Suffice it to say, I am game, but was a little non-committal in the moment. I will chalk that up to having left my Crackberry (i.e. portable brain) at home inadvertently last weekend.


In thinking about a baby shower, I harken back to baby showers I have attended where we ate gross things, did stupid games and generally were just looking for an excuse to consume as much spiked punch as possible while making ourselves sick on onion dip and veggies. Not that much fun really. And during most of the showers I have gone to the child was totally irrelevant. So, when faced with the daunting task of having to organize my own, I shuddered.

Enter, my saviors, Xena Warrior Tick princess and K, both amazing strong and fearless women from my community who have willingly placed themselves in the face of oncoming indescribable danger called "A BABY SHOWER". /shudder.

THEN, of all things, Father Paul, my newly ordained Jesuit priest friend, offered to host it. (!!) Now, this is going to be a party folks! Not only will there be a meeting of most (if not all ) of my eclectic (and potentially heathen) circles of friends but it could be lousy with Catholic priests! Yahooo!!!

So, in the interest of assisting my pals, I am looking for suggestions for meaningful activities that can take up the baby shower time. Meaningful, in that, they would be easy for anyone to participate in without fear or trepidation AND might even involve or reference the baby. Novel I know.

I have to admit that despite my rowdy exterior, I am not really someone who likes to take the spot light and be the center of attention. Nor do I want to participate in anything where there is even a whiff of a roast, hazing or embarrassment. Call me crazy but I will gladly stage manage any event of any size but put me in the spotlight and I am *really* uncomfortable.

So, I am taking suggestions for how to honor or include or focus on the BABY at this baby shower, not the mama.


Feel free, however, to carry BP around in a chair (Ala the scene in Yentl) and shove spiked punch down his gullet.

Lay them on me! Suggestions for activities, foods (adult), beverages, ways to get the multi-cultural crowd mingling and involved, etc.


If you are out of town and interested in attending make sure to let me know so I can get addresses for invitations. The information will also be posted here. Everyone (boys and girls, dogs, cats, babies, chickens,) are welcome! This baby is going to have a diverse community to support it, we might as well party a bit together before the Tenant arrives.

I will say, one of the baby blogs I follow has a mama who is due any day with her 4th (!!), and she just posted this awesome photo this morning...I might have to do this.



How awesome is that?

Swimmingly,

KT and Tenant

High Chairs and kid tables are wacky!

So I was perusing the Internet the other day and lo and behold, I think to myself, "Self, you might need a high chair in the near-ish future. Let's go take a look-see".

DANG! High chairs have gotten all high tech from my days of babysitting and general kid wrangling. I have no idea what kind of degree you need to get to work these gadgets but it must be expensive to acquire.

I have to give it to the Swedes, they are an inventive bunch. the model on the right is my favorite of the myriad of chairs I looked at, mostly because it can be used as a chair for a table as the child grows.

AND it looks like a combination of a spaceship and a torture device all rolled into one.

The reality of the situation is, in this household, we don't eat at a table. Ever. We are dedicated living room floor sitters and I suspect that what is going to happen will be a purchase of a low child size table and chairs that eating and crafts can be performed on. The Good Reverend's family used this technique for most of the 6 kids they have, resorting to some sort of booster / highchair idea only in the last couple of years.

Like this table...it's cute. I hate to admit my like of such a obviously child directed item, but dang, it's cute.


And the little chairs just kill me. KILL ME!

If anyone knows me well, they know I have a soft spot in my heart for wooden chairs. I don't know what it is about them but I think they are classy.

The idea of little kids in wooden chairs is JUST about as good as little kid toes, which are arguably the BEST part of little kids. Hands down...it's the toes.


There we have a pretty anti-deep thought post regarding what's been filling my brain the last couple of days.

Well...that and rocking chairs. That will be my next great research project. OH, and diaper covers. Since we are committing to cloth diapers, getting the correct diaper snuggy to cover that diaper is apparently, pretty important. We'll see how I do.

I'll put a link up in the Alternative registry when I do in case anyone has a burning desire to purchase said diaper covers.

Any suggestions from the crowd? Has anyone gone the cloth diaper route and has a diaper cover they would suggest? Gotta keep that cute little tush covered somehow!

Swimmingly,

Kt and Tenant

Baby Names

Here's the deal with our naming of the baby. Ideally, we want to find 6 or so names for each gender that we really like before the baby comes. Then, when we meet this person, we can pick from that list.

In the sidebar, you can see the current list that we're knocking around. Those lists are going to change often, so it's worth checking back on them if you are interested in this process.

Feel free to suggest names, and give reasons/stories why you like that particular name too. We're very interested, and folks may be surprised what catches our fancy.

Thanks for your kind attentions,

Bp

Ps/Addendum: I'll cop to some attachments I hold in the name department. I love Viggo, for some reason. I also really love the idea of using Paul for the middle name of a girl. I just think it would rock -- and some of those names would be especially good paired with it (Bellis Paul, Vivian Paul -- rocking).

Why "The Tenant Sea" name?

When I decided I needed to make a blog to cover the exploits of this pregnancy (and potentially beyond), the biggest issue became what to name the silly thing.

Since I follow a few "Mommy blogs" (as they are distastefully called), I have been exposed to quite a few catchy names. Thinking one up for myself, however, was quite the challenge. It couldn't be named something cutesy or too obtuse, and I just can't really stomach the word "mommy" (or daddy for that matter) so that was out. Eventually, I fell back on BP and my weird sense of humor for salvation.

When first pregnant and not telling anyone about it, "the Tenant" became code for "the baby". Since we have a roommate, it was convenient to discussion issues the Tenant might have and just let folks come to their own conclusions. I got the whole idea of tenancy from some pseudo-authoritative "this is what your baby looks like at 4 weeks" website where the baby was referred to as "your precious little tenant", which I thought was hilarious.

Why, do you say, would I think it was hilarious? Well, years earlier the Onion ran a little piece entitled "Woman Overjoyed By Giant Uterine Parasite" which we all thought was hilarious. So, inadvertently the first nickname for the Tenant was, um...uterine parasite. Not something you want to be explaining to your kids years in the future when sensitive egos may be at stake.

Suffice it to say, the Tenant nickname stuck.

So when it came to thinking a blog name up, my brain immediately incorporated the words "the Tenant" and then started searching for closure.

I remembered back a few years to a story dear friends of ours in Seattle relayed to us. They were on kid 4 of 6 at the time (!) and the children were being informed of the baby in Mama's belly. Papa (the Good Reverend, as he is known) described him as floating in vat like the superhero Aquaman. This was misheard by the 5 year old as "Tacoman" and the 4th child was nicknamed that until delivery.

With that story rattling around in my head, I thought..."well, I'm kind of like the pool attached to apartment complex the Tenant resides in (the lower apartment of course), so...with some sort of demented pregnancy leap...it became The Tenant Sea.

Poof! There you go! Clear as mud I am sure.

Swimmingly!

Kt and Tenant

How to buy things for the baby: Tutorial

My lovely husband brought it to my attention that the alternative registry feature that I have created in lieu (for now) of a baby shower is a tad bit confusing. Here's my best attempt to make it more understandable.

So if you click on the link to the Registry (in the upper left hand corner of the blog) you will get to the homepage. FEAR NOT! This is just one step towards your journey!

Next, navigate over to the right hand side of the screen under the FIND function. If you put in our last name (NOTE: not the hyphenated last name, just BP's) into the name box it will direct you to the Baby shower registry I set up.

The name of the Registry is TEAM OUR LAST NAME(/nod to C the G). If you hit VIEW, you will get a list of the things I have added to the registry as things we would be interested in. They are NOT in any particular order of significance or importance and I am not finished adding items.

Please read the paragraph description for the items as the WANT function is a bit limited to just number of items and doesn't allow for any text in that cell. I have tried to be specific as to what things on the webstite we'd be interested in. I provided a link to the site whenever possible. If something is broken please shoot me a email or call and let me know so I can fix it.

I have NO expectations that folks are going to buy things for the baby, but if you do choose to get a little sumptin' sumptin' for the tenant, please check and see if it's on the registry and if not, (or it's a big purchase we might need to discuss specifics for) just give us a call. I don't want to dissuade anyone from purchasing that cute little teeshirt or a book or two, but just remember we are mostly a no media house. So as much as you might love that Disney stuffed toy or the DVD of kids songs, we won't use 'em.

If you are searching around on your own, feel free to look at things that either the Waldorf school system or Montessori school system endorses. Almost all of those items are Tenant friendly!

AND, while often overlooked, practical things really really would help. Baby wipes, powders, lotions, glass baby bottles, diaper service, shoes of many sizes, receiving blankets, breast pads, gently used maternity wear (for the mama) are all things that might seem "less" important compared to that pair of baby socks (and way less cute) but they add up for us monetarily.

I would, however, be psyched if anyone wanted to set up a 529 college fund for junior...but give me a call if that is actually a reality for ya'll in this economic climate.

FYI for all you folks who HAVE a packet of kids already, we are MORE that happy to take your hand me down baby clothes for any age! They grow so fast there is no way these things are worn out. I would be happy to pay shipping postage for boxes of these things.

So there you have it! If you have any problems getting into the registry or figuring out what the heck I'm trying to say just let me know! Thank you in advance for all the support.

Swimmingly,

KT and the Tenant